Man Without A Clue Interview: Back in the know

Despite being part of the scene for well over a decade, Alex van der Meijden AKA Man Without A Clue may have only come to your radar as a house music producer back in 2014 when his DFTD release picked up major traction. His fan base is rapidly growing alongside the plays of his new track 'Bless Her Soul', which is currently conquering dancefloors around the globe. 

Man Without A Clue is far from an artist who has fluked his success, with collaborations both in and away from the studio with Todd Terry, Roger Sanchez and Kenny Dope, his talent is recognised by some of the genre's pioneers, who he continues to work with to this day.

The Dutch producer is set up for a big year, with 'Bless Her Soul' as the catalyst for what is guaranteed to be a huge summer season, supported by even more quality releases both by himself and artists on his own label Clueless. We caught up with the man himself to discuss his career, his name and much more ahead of his UK gigs.

Hi Alex. First up, we need to talk about 'Bless Her Soul' (above), it's doing really, really well at the moment, it's getting hammered by DJs and is steadily climbing up the charts. Can you tell us about the process of putting the track together, is it something that's been in the pipeline for a while? Was it always meant for Defected?

Yes, I am very happy that the track is doing really well at the moment. It all started when we were sent a couple of accapellas from Meleka to see if something would fit with what I do. I listened through them and the 'Bless Her Soul' vocal really caught my attention. There was just something about it that made me think, "Yeah this is it!"

So I started working on the beat and sent over a very basic setup to see if Meleka was diggin' it so far. They came back to me and said that they loved the setup, so I started working from there.

When I create a record, it's never with a specific label in mind. Of course, I would always like to sign tunes to the bigger labels, but sometimes a record is completed with a sound that suits what a specific record label is putting out. Plus, I don't want to force the creative process. Once I was nearly done, we all felt this could fit Defected, so we sent it out to them and they signed it!

You released 'When I Play This Record' on the DFTD label back in 2014. It was your big break in a sense when this took off, how has your relationship with the brand developed from then?

Yes, the record had already been played for a while by various DJs. At one point, Andy Daniell reached out to my former alias as the 'MWAC' details online did not have any contact information. Obviously I was hyped when I got the message and we took it from there.

Since the record came out we started to get more involved with each other. I kept on sending demos, and once we sent 'Bless Her Soul' they got behind it. We have a good thing going on and even though not all of the records I create are a good fit for the label, they will be the first ones to have a listen.

You're classed as the only new house music artist to have collaborated with three of the true originators of the sound, legends; Todd Terry, Kenny Dope and Roger Sanchez. How did those collaborations come about and what was it like working with each one?

I've known Roger for a while now. It started out with just sending him promos and eventually my music got noticed by him and I signed one record to his label 'Stealth' for the Release Yourself compilation. When I started sending him the MWAC records, at one point we got in touch and he gave me some very helpful advice to continue with what I was doing under this alias.

We did a seminar together for Fader Pro at ADE (above), and this snippet essentially sums up what he told me on the phone. He brought me out to play in Ibiza at Lio, which was the first gig under my MWAC moniker, and we had an amazing time We also did the 'Drop The Needle' collaboration which was released on his label Undr The Radr.

Kenny Dope had been playing 'When I Play This Record' during the summer of 2014 (which I never knew) but I was a sent a video of when he dropped it playing B2B at ADE with Roger. I reached out to him to say thanks and one thing led to another. In April 2015, he invited me to New Jersey to work in his studio for a week. We created a lot of music, and there was a good chemistry while working on the tunes. I even picked up a guitar to record some licks for a project.

I joined Kenny when he played a gig in Amsterdam at O.W.A.P, Todd Terry was there swell, that's how I met him. I remember we were in the cab heading towards the gig when Todd and Kenny started preaching about the music business ha. I'm 6'4 but at that time I felt like a little boy as you can imagine. But seriously, Todd is great guy and we kept in touch ever since. We did the 'Bass Pump' collaboration for his Inhouse Records.

To be honest, working with all three has been a great honour for me, I count myself incredibly lucky.

You recently put together a mix for us (below), it's one of our favourites at the moment. Is it a reflection of the sort of stuff you're playing in your sets currently?

I like a lot of different music, from jazz to disco, from rock to soul and so on. Yes, it's definitely a reflection of what I play in my sets. I love to go a bit harder, but I always combine it with vocals. I feel like vocals give that little bit of cream on top, if that makes sense. Over the years my taste in music has developed, so maybe in a couple years from now, it will be way different, we'll see.

Apart from 'Bless Her Soul', what track is without fail making its way into your sets lately?

It's actually a new record I've signed from S.Chu on my label Clueless. It's called 'Love' (below) and is out now on Traxsource. The track has some serious Jackin' vibes with a strong beat and a nice cut up vocal that runs through. It's a tune for me that always works. 

You've worked previously under your Alex Sandrino alias, was it an easy decision going down the Man Without A Clue route? Do you feel fortunate that producing dance music gives you more scope to change your sound and musical identity?

When I started getting involved in house music, Alex Sandrino was kinda my baby. At one point I got stuck and nothing was really happening, I had to take a couple of steps back, I lost the fun in making music.

When I started doing those records without any intention of releasing them or whatever, all of a sudden it felt like all the pieces of the puzzle started coming together. I started having fun again in doing the records because I felt there were no boundaries anymore. I will continue to avoid putting myself in a little box when it comes to sound/genre.

The whole thing about music is that you should create what you love, and once you start creating something that you feel needs to be out there, the whole 'magic touch' will disappear in my opinion. Not saying that you can't make something that you are inspired or moved by, but just go in and create what you create because you love it.

How did you come up with the Man Without A Clue name? 

At that point I was lost in my music, and nothing was happening, I didn't know what to do with my life, I didn't know what kind of career/work to pursue or whatever. I decided to make music which I just loved making, with no intention to 'make it big' or anything like that, just for the music.

You could say I was without a clue, so I came up with Man Without A Clue and it just felt right. Funny thing is, I still don't have a clue and probably never will [laughs]

You've previously said you're determined to be in this for the long run, rather than known as a producer who put out a couple of stand out tracks. What are you doing to ensure that you're here for good? 

Yes, I would love to be able to live up to those words but time will tell. All I can do is just create music I love, and hope that people will like what I am doing.

I can't think of doing anything else, because creating music is where it starts for me. I have an amazing team around me (shout out Aaron, Emma, Tom, Edwin) but they can't do their bit without me making the records. All the time I have, I spend working in the studio on tunes, literally seven days a week if I can. If I don't have a gig at the weekend, you will find me in the studio.

You'll be joining Defected resident Sam Divine at Egg London for her D-Vine party next month, is it always good fun playing with artists from the same label? 

Yeah, Sam has been very supportive over the last few years. We've played together once before at the Qube Project in London and that was great. So yes, it will definitely be a good one and can't wait to play and party with everybody there and see all the 'D-Vine Sounds' DJ's doing their thing! It's my first time playing Egg, I've heard so much good stuff about it I'm very excited.

What else have you got lined up for 2016 that you can tell us about?

There is a lot to come. New releases are coming out on Simma Black, Get Twisted and Clueless. I will release a new single which I've done with Kenny Dope on Dopewax. We are working on an album together to drop on Dopewax as well.

There's also a new remix on RM Records that's coming out end of February for Longplay & Asha Rae 'Caught Up' (above). I've been busy working on the release schedule for my label Clueless; S.Chu has dropped the latest release and Curtis Gabriel and Dantiez Saunderson will both drop an EP in the near future.

I'm in the middle of finalising new collaborations with Dantiez Saunderson, Curtis Gabriel, J Paul Getto. There's more gig wise too, I will be back in Dublin on 27th February and in March I'll be travelling through the UK doing shows. Very much looking forward to that.

You can also catch Man Without A Clue at the Glow Rooms Lancaster on Wednesday 2nd March.